A Shadow of Hope
by Van Nathos
Summary: A Stranger appears in Hyrule, suddenly Link and others are thrust into a conflict with forces more powerful than had ever been known. Now the Kingdom of Hyrule is at risk with the consequences being distruction.
1. A Shadow Under the Sun

                                                             A Shadow of Hope

Prologue 

Dawn had just broken over the horizon, sending sheets of golden light over the green fields so famous in Hyrule. Not enjoying the light now spreading over the landscape was a lone figure clothed in black, who could be seen struggling through the green Hyrulean Fields. Tall and menacing was this figure that strode to find shelter to get out of the light.

The figure traveled across the fields for another hour until, he found a person running across the fields.

"Ho, runner!" the figure cried out his deep baritone voice catching the attention of the runner as he ran by. "Where is the nearest shelter?"

"Oh, that would be Hyrule," the runner replied as he stopped his forward movement and though not moving started running in place as he spoke. "It is just over the next hill. It has walls and a moat, so you can't miss it,"

"Thanks," said the figure as he continued trudging on through the light that was not only a nuisance to him, but now was also blinding him.

Just over the hill as the runner had said, was a city.

"_So this must be Hyrule_," he thought as he crossed the drawbridge and entered the bustling streets of the city of Hyrule.

All around him now were people. Some bartering with shop owners, some milling about, and some were children playing in the streets. The medieval style houses were tightly packed, with the main shops forming a circle around the square with their small shops and pavilions. On the sides of the square, some ally's could be seen that led to more shops and houses. The stranger went down one of these. As he walked down the ally, he passed by some dogs that were barking at each other and running around.

He walked in and counted the doors as he walked, "One, two, three." At the third door he knocked, and waited for a reply from inside. He knocked again after not hearing any noise from inside, and this time he heard someone rustling about inside. Then he heard the crossbar on the door being moved, and then the door opened.

"I have arrived," the figure said in a low voice.

"Feroc, is that you? My, how you've changed in these five years since we separated," the man at the door said in reply to the large man in front of him. "Come in and I can tell you why I called for you."

The man then led Feroc inside his humble home. Inside were two rooms. The first had a fireplace on the back wall with two chairs by it. Alongside the walls were various piles of papers and books. The other room, that could be seen through a slightly open door in the back, had a small bed with various clothes and odds and ends thrown about inside. The man then took Feroc's cloak and beckoned him to sit in one of the chairs by the fireplace. Turning to the chair, he could see the familiar scar on the right cheek and neck, the dark rough hair, and small beard as he sat.

"Now, why did you ask me to return from my travels in the deserts Akon?" Feroc said as he sat back in the chair that Akon had wanted him to sit in.

"Well, there is this boy...." Akon started saying.


	2. Hero Enters

The beast was circling the boy ready to spring at any sign of the boy letting down his guard. The beast continued circling until he saw the boy his sword down a bit, so it was nearly on the ground. After seeing that the beast lunged at the boy, but the boy was ready. With lightning-quick reflexes, he rolled, brought his sword up, and slashed at the monsters now exposed head and neck. The monster reared back in surprise but soon lunged again. This time though the boy brought his sword up and slashed the throat of the now lunging beast. The beast roared with anger then collapsed from its injuries never to rise again.

The boy went to examine his kill. By circling and probing the kill with his sword, the boy could determine that it was dead. The boy then used his sword too cut a small bag of the monster's back and opened it. Inside was a small broach with a pearl in the middle.

_Good! This was the right one_, he thought as he tucked the broach away in a sack he had nearby and started walking back to the village where he had come from.

The boys name was Link. Link, the hero of Hyrule, the defeater of Ganon, Ganandorf, and the one who fought to defeat many other creatures of evil in this world that he lived in. Standing about five foot, with sandy-blond hair, and wearing all green, the boy was a healthy-looking person. He had recently defeated Ganandorf in a chaotic battle that had ended with him transforming himself in Links dead nemesis, Ganon. Even then, Link had been able to defeat him and the Triforce locked Ganandorf into a void.

Though Link was a boy of only twelve he had been appointed guardian of the land and it was his mission to protect Hyrule and had to frequently go out and fight creatures threatening some part of Hyrule, the Goron lands, or the Zora's domain. Since there were many he was kept quite busy.

This time around, he had been sent out to defeat a creature that had attacked and stolen a broach from a traveler from another land that was visiting Hyrule. Link had now done that and was heading back to return the broach to him. Even though Link had such an important job in Hyrule, he wished to return to the good old days where he went on adventures to save the whole world, not just this petty stuff.

After an hour of traveling, Link caught sight of the Inn where he was to return the broach to its owner; built not long ago as an outlet to the Lon Lon Ranch so that travelers would not bother them so much. Link walked up to the Inn and walked in. The Inn was one of the smallest ones in Hyrule, with only two rooms for people to stay in. It must have satisfied the visitor though because he had been staying here for three weeks and had not complained yet. Link walked up to the owner's desk and asked for the whereabouts of the visitor.

"He's up in his room, want me to get him for ya?" the innkeeper replied.

"Yes that would be helpful," Link said as he sat down on a bench that the owner had out for visitors to sit on.

The owner went upstairs and a little while later he came back down and stated, "He'll be down in a minute young one, he has to get dressed first. It seems I interrupted him when he was getting dressed, poor chap,"

"That's fine, as long he comes," Link replied as he got the broach out of the bag.

True to the owner's word, the man came down in a few minutes, giddy as school child. He came bounding down the steps, heading straight towards Link, and could barely stop himself right in front of where Link was sitting, as he asked with glee, "You have it?"

"Yes I do, that monster had just crossed the river when I caught up to him, good thing you got word to me so soon." Link stated as he handed the broach over to the man, who grabbed it and started examining it to see if there had been any damage.

"You have no idea what this means to me, if I returned home without the all the souvenirs from this land, my people would be mad at me and probably send me back with more people to make sure they get souvenirs from here, so they can ponder whether or not to try to open up trade," the man exclaimed as he wrapped the broach in a piece of silk and put it in a small case. "Thank you."

"Don't worry, this is what I am here for, and if you can excuse me I need to leave now," Link said as he picked up the case and his other belongings and left. 

"Thanks again!" the man exclaimed as Link was walking out.

Link frowned in disgust as he left. He hated doing jobs like this. He wanted to do something that was a challenge again, and actually have an adventure. All these jobs were just stupid. Link walked down the road leading to the city of Hyrule. Now he had to head back to his home in the castle there, where the King had adopted him, since the King had no sons of his own and Link's parents were dead.

Link soon caught sight of the city and traversed the moat, and went through the gate. He walked through the bustling streets and took the hill up to the castle. He went up and the guard let him in with a bow. Link went up to his room to sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be different.

However, he was unaware of the shadow that had followed him since he had entered the city. The shadow that had continued following him all the way to the castle and inside


	3. From Dawning Day to Tormenting Dusk

When Link got to his room, he was surprised to find Zelda in it. She was standing by the bed and looked as if she had been waiting for a while, but upon seeing him Zelda immediately got up though and said, "Father wanted to know if were done for today. He wants you to actually have dinner with us tonight."

She asked with such a tone and look, that Link just could not refuse. "Sure," Link replied unbuckling his sword and placed it by his bed. "How long do I have?" He asked as he stood back up.

"Only about half an hour but you need to clean up first, and change if possible. I'll do the same," Zelda said, with a tone of glee.

"Alright then, I'll be down." Link replied and looked at his sister, she was a beauty even though she was only thirteen. _Who ever gets her will be a lucky man_, he thought gazing at his beautiful sister.

"So, what do I have to do tonight then?" Link asked. "Just go down and eat? Hopefully nothing embarrassing."

"It'll be alright brother," Zelda told him. You will be just fine. There aren't too many guests tonight." Zelda stepped forward kissing Link on the cheek before turning around to go. "By the way, I think it was a good idea for father to adopt you. Now I can have someone to talk to more often." And with that, she was out the door and walking through the castle corridors, with an unusual amount of energy in her step, for just preparing for a feast.

Link looked for something appropriate to wear in his belongings. Unfortunately, he did not have anything appropriate for the occasion. All the clothes the king had ordered made for the boy had yet to be finished. With nothing better to wear, Link just grabbed a clean green tunic and slipped it on, then went out the door and down the spacious corridors to the main hall, and dinner.

Link arrived in the main hall just when the guests started arriving, and there were many, many guests. Link gulped at the number of guests that qualified as "just a few." He took his place on the right side of his father, who was talking to some of the guests at the time. Link watched the guests filter in and waited for Zelda to enter. Not much later Zelda entered the hall wearing a long pink ball gown, walked through the hall looking like a princess, as usual, and sat in her spot next to Link.

"I thought you said a few guests?" Link asked Zelda after she had sat down.

"Silly, this is a few according to our standards," Zelda replied. "We usually have about five times more people than this for our feasts."

Link gulped, thinking about the prospect, then asked Zelda, "So how have you and father been doing? Since I have been given all these little jobs, I haven't had much time to talk or even look for you guys,"

"Well, not too much has been going on really. Father has been doing the usual king stuff, and I have been doing the usual princess stuff, but we have missed seeing you. You haven't spent any time with us for quite a while," Zelda replied, and with that, she got up to talk to some guests that had just arrived. Link was left alone at his seat in a room filled with dozens of people chatting about this and that. To add to the boring moment Link's new father and sister were also adding to the chatter and not including him in it.

Link was about to get up and start talking to some of the guests, too, when his father finished his conversation and sat down on the other side of Link and said to Link, "I'm glad you could finally make it son. You have not been to a feast since the victory feast celebrating your defeat Ganon. Zelda was so pleased when you actually had time to come, she's been wanting to teach you how to dance for some time now and now she'll finally have the opportunity."

"Dance? I thought this was a dinner?" Link asked, a little confused.

"Of course it is, but what is dinner without some dancing and music afterward," and with that Link's father, the King, got up and called everyone to attention and with a few words the feast started.

Link had been to some feasts before, but after being raised in the forest he never had gotten over how much food there was, and how much he was given to eat. Link had course after course of meats, soups, fruits, and other foods shoved in front of him, so much that Link knew for certain that there was no way he could eat it all, even if he had all day to do it. Link ate as much as he could and afterward talked to his sister and father about different things.

When everyone had eaten his or her fill the feast was announced over and the dancing started. Servants came in from their spots on the walls, cleaned off the food and dishes off all the tables, and moved the tables to places along the walls and couples started pairing up to dance across the dance floor.

Link tried to melt into the crowd, but Zelda would have nothing of it. Zelda went looking for Link as soon as the dancing started and dragged him into the dancing throng. At first Link was cautious and clumsy with his dancing, but with Zelda as his tutor he soon caught on, and soon they seemed to glide as one across the dance floor. By the time the music had stopped Link bowed and thanked Zelda for the dance and was preparing to stop and retire to his room to sleep, but unknown to him Zelda had promised all the young ladies who had come that Link would dance with them. After his dance with Zelda, they immediately started swarming around him for their promised dance. Link had to dance every dance until he had danced with all the young ladies. After that, he had to dance with some others who were not so young that also wanted to dance with the new prince of Hyrule. By the time the evening was done, he was thoroughly exhausted. 

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Zelda asked him as she walked up to him as the guests were leaving.

"Well it wasn't that bad, but why did you set me up like that?" Link replied waving good-bye to some of the guests as they were leaving.

"Well I just knew you would never ask anyone so I had to set you up. Look at it this way, at least you learned how to dance," Zelda said and with that she started heading up to her room to retire for the night. Just before she left the hall, Zelda turned around and blew Link a kiss, saying, "Lets to this again brother. After enough of them, you'll get used to it." With that, she disappeared into the castle corridors; Link could only hear the click of her shoes as she walked down the large stone castle corridors.

Link also retired to his room for the night. By the time he entered his quarters the shadows had lengthened. Outside, the gate of Hyrule was being locked up for the night, as the people of Hyrule also retired to their homes. Link did not even bother slipping off his tunic and just collapsed into bed and let the softness suck him in. After pulling his covers over himself, he listened to chirping of the crickets outside for a little while but soon he drifted of to sleep.

Outside a figure waited in the shadows of the castle courtyard waiting for the shades of night to deepen. Near midnight the noise from the guests leaving the feast and the servants cleaning had died down so the figure arose from his hiding place and slowly made his way through the courtyard and to the gate [leading?] into the castle. There he waited for a while listening for any noise inside the castle, but upon hearing none, he slowly creaked open the door and entered, closing the door behind carefully so he would not make a sound. Inside, he entered the main castle corridor and made his way up two flights on stairs and down a hall to the room where he had seen the boy Link retire into. Moving stealthfully to not arouse attention of the castle guards, the figure worked his way up to Links room. After looking around to be sure he had not been followed, he opened the door, and, like a dark shadow, walked in.

Inside Links room, the dark figure surveyed his surroundings. Great tapestries and pictures of Knights fighting dragons and other dangerous creatures covered the walls. Along the far wall was the window overlooking the castle courtyard that he had figure he had seen Link enter here through, and near the window on a bed, sleeping blissfully unaware of anyone in the room, was the boy named Link.

Putting one of his hands into his dark cloak, the figure slowly advanced towards the sleeping figure completely silent so not to awaken the sleeping boy. Before reaching the boy, the figure heard a clank on stone outside in the castle corridors the heard the voices of some sentries as they passed on their usual vidual of the castle. Standing still until they passed then the figure got good look at the boy. He was about five foot with unusually broad shoulders and arms. He had a sword on the floor by his bed and wore a green tunic. Seeing nothing that the boy might have hidden the figure waited a few more seconds to be sure, the guards had passed then covered the final distance between him and the boy and stooped down.

After pulling out a piece of cloth from his cloak to use as a gag, the figure attempted to cover the boy's mouth. The boy immediately woke up and the figure was knocked backwards from a kick in the face. Flying backwards until he was able to plant his heals onto the ground; the figure was amazed at the speed of the boy. Pausing for a second, the figure saw Link lunge for his blade, and with lightning reflexes pick it up, got into a defensive position.

The figure also had sword, a scimitar, dark and sleek, which was brought out and was put into a position ready for action. After which both combatants judged the other, searching for a weakness, they eyed each other wearily.

The dark man attacked first with a lunge. Link parried the attack and countered with a quick kick at Feroc's knees, causing them to buckle and fall to the ground. A bit shaken up, the stranger shook himself and lunged at Link again this time swinging his scimitar in a wide arc. Link flipped backwards, forcing the man to nearly trip from the momentum of his missed blow. Link then charged forward and sent a kick into the stranger's head sending him flying into the far wall, knocking down one of the pictures with a crash. Link then advanced on the stranger and brought his sword up to the intruder's throat.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Link asked breathing heavily. The dancing had unexpectedly worn him out and this little battle was causing him to tire.

The man remained silent and tried to shake off the grogginess he had got from the force of Link's blow.

"Well?" Link as again this time bringing his sword up closer to the stranger's throat examining him.

At that moment, several guards charged into the room. "What is wrong, sir?" one of the guards asked. "We were alerted to fighting in here,"

"This man attacked me," Link told the guards. "He won't talk yet, so I would suggest that you guys take him away."

The guards saluted Link, then advanced on the intruder slowly, their pikes ready to strike if need be. Suddenly the stranger was cured of all grogginess and with lighting like speed, his arm flew up and from it, a bright blue light appeared. Staring in astonishment, Link saw the light go straight into the guard's chests and sent them flying with amazing speed out the door and into the wall beyond hitting it with a sickening crunch. The man then got up and turned to face the astonished Link. The figure advanced with small but definite steps on Link and his scimitar behind him.

Link seeing the stranger's advance stared in amazement after seeing what he could do. "_But he is unarmed, I can still take him_," he thought. Moreover, with that he advanced on the dark figure also and swung his sword at the man's unprotected chest.

Moving as if in time had been slowed the strangers hands came up with lightning-swiftness, one grabbing the tip of Links sword, crushing it, and from the other a ball of fire emanated from and the figure launched the ball at Link, hitting him in the abdomen sending him flying into the bed where he fell face down onto the ground and dropped the now useless sword.

"Don't worry young pup. You're coming with me and no one can stop that now," the figure stated as he walked up to Link and took off his cloak. Link's body was raised off the ground and put into the man's cloak. After securing Link onto his back the man made one look around to make sure the guards weren't there watching. They were not though; the guards were still moaning and groaning in the hall where he had hurled them. The man then jumped out the window into the courtyard and beyond

Link woke up from the grogginess a few hours later. He was in a dimly lit room now, and was tied to a sturdy bed. In a chair across from him the man who had attacked him and another man were talking in low voices in front of a small fire burning in a modest fireplace. Upon hearing his stirring the men walked towards him and the one that had attacked him said, "Sorry about the rough ride, my name is Feroc and this is Akon and we have a few questions to ask you."


	4. Things to Ponder

Akon and Feroc had barely finished speaking with Link when he but in. "So explain this to me again. You were just testing me in my room for something you want me to do?" Link exclaimed, in reply to what the two men had said to him.

"Yes, you had to be tested so we could see if you were really as good as I've been told. We also had to make sure you'd come," Feroc replied wearily, as by now the arguments of the boy were starting to wear down his patience.

"You could have just sent a message or come to ask me in person," Link stated.

"Would you really have come to us, if we had asked, you probably would have thought us insane for what we are about to tell you," Akon said.

At that, Link refrained from speaking as the darker man, Feroc, started telling a story.

"We have brought you here to ask you to help us, as you well know by now. But why, you ask without any doubt in your mind. Well here it is: across the deserts by the Gerudo Lands lays a mountain. That mountain is called Krag. Inside Krag, there are vast caverns, which honeycomb the inside of the mountain. These caverns are immense, large enough to hold thousands of people and still have room to spare. For many years this mountain was not discovered by anyone because a magically induced fog concealed it, one that no one had ever penetrated. However, ten years ago, that was changed when a group of eight men discovered the hidden mountain, when they mistakenly traveled into the fog surrounding the mountain and got lost in it.

"Well, they were lost for some hours when one of the party found a way through the fog and found himself in a vast cavern. After discovering this cavern and a whole network of similar ones, the men conducted a thorough investigation of the mountain. Inside one of the mountain's caverns was found a large room, and in the room was found a small white pearl like stone, in a small iron box. This stone looked like any old stone but they group soon found out that, it held great power. This was discovered when one of the party took the stone out of the box and from the stone a red light emerged that covered the man and soon the man fried from the inside out and just crumpled into a pile of ashes on the cavern floor. Aghast at what had just happened to their companion the group immediately left the accursed place and investigated other unexplored areas of the mountain. After a month of investigating, the group left to return to their homes. 

"They journeyed back towards their homes and stopped in the Gerudo Fortress to rest. There one of their party, Dajak by name, started having dreams about the accursed stone. He dreamt that by harnessing the stone's power he could purge the world of all it is evil and all the evil that had ever happened in it is evil past. At first, he dismissed the idea as futile, but when the dream kept on coming back to him, he began having second thoughts about it. Soon the idea started to devour him. He kept on stewing on the idea until one day, the group set up camp and it the morning he was found to be gone and all his belongings too.

"The group knowing, about their companions continued dreams about the accursed stone, knew exactly where he had gone. They followed with all the haste they could muster, but alas, they were not able to catch up to him before he had reached the accursed mountain. Even at the mountain, he still had a lead on them, only being able to catch a fleeting glimpse of him before he disappeared into the vast caverns. The group followed him into the dark caverns and went directly to the room with the stone, knowing that he would be trying to reach that place to get the stone. When they arrived though, they found the stone had already been taken. They went and search the mountain. On it's peak they caught up to their companion, but alas, it was too late. Arriving just as their companion had finished reciting some chant, the group had the unenviable opportunity to see him take the stone from the iron box and stare in horror as their companion picked it up and start to change. The man's hair started changing from the blond hair it was to a dark black, and his eyes changed from green to a bright red.

"Seeing that great evil was happening, the group decided that they should stop him before he did anything else. They advanced on him with their weapons drawn. The leader tried pleading with Dajak to drop the stone, but Dajak refused and sent a monstrous ball of fire into his face, incinerating the man's entire head. With their leader dead, the rest of the group attacked him, but Dajak was too strong. Within the space of a minute nearly whole group was dead or dying on the mountain peak from many wounds caused by the arcane power that had just been unleashed inside of their one time companion.

"In the massacre of the party though, something good did happen. Two members of the party survived. These two survivors fled down the mountain and into caverns trying to escape their now insane friend that had killed all their companions. They did not go far before Dajak caught up with them, though. Dajak attacked with the power he had harnessed from the stone, sending bolts of lightning and balls of fire at them. One of two survivors, a mage, cast a spell of protection and deflected most of the blasts, but knowing that soon they would be dead unless they did something soon. The mage and the other survivor, his apprentice, cast a powerful teleportation spell, using all the energy left in them, that was just strong enough to temporarily counter the power of the stone that Dajak was using to keep them there in the mountain, and, with a flash, the mage and his apprentice were gone. However, with the slight breaking of the spells that had been cast by the cursed stone, and quake started sending the caverns collapsing down on top of Dajak.

"The two though, were transported to a cave on the outskirts of the Hyrulean fields. After many days of recovering, the two decided that their next move would be for the mage to stand vigal in the desert to see if Dajak came back, and his apprentice went to Hyrule to look for signs of Dajak there. For two years, they did this until Dajak was sited in Hyrule a few weeks ago. At that time the apprentice summoned for his master mage to get advice on the predicament and to find some way to stop him before he started killing and destroying more than he has already done.

"His master came and was told him about Dajak's new whereabouts and more. In addition, he was told where he might be able to get some help with the task of stopping Dajak. From his apprentice the mage learned of you, and went to get you." Feroc stopped talking at that, pausing to let it sink in.

Amazed at the story he had just heard, Link stopped for a moment and let it sink in. He let the story sink for some time when he figured out that something was not right. "So the mage went to get me, but only you came, so that means...."

"Yes, that means that I am that mage, and Akon here is my apprentice, the same from the story I told you." Feroc said as he stood to his full height and throwing aside his cloak. "I am Feroc, of the race of Akun, from the land of Akun, last of the once powerful mages of Akor, from the mountains of Kaz."

"Wait, if you are a powerful mage, why would you want me?" Link asked.

"Haven't you been listening to the story, we need you to help us stop Dajak before he does something very dangerous." Akon stepped in and said.

"But if a powerful mage and companions couldn't stop him, what makes you think with me helping you, that he would be able to be stopped." Link stated.

"We have heard about your exploits and yes, we know about the Triforce." Feroc said.

"But how do you know, I thought only my sister Zelda knew..."

"Akon here has been watching you for some time and has been doing his research, he knows about the Triforce and about the master sword. However, this time that sword will not be needed. All we need is your skills to help us, so what would it be."

"But you still haven't told me why you'd need me," Link said.

"We need you because in our years of searching we have learned much about Dajak and have determined that he can be beaten, all we need is one more person to carry out our plan." Feroc said.

"And that is?"

"You will find out when you need to know,"

"Well first I need to think about it," Link said.

"Don't worry we'll give you the afternoon to think about it, when you have your answer meet us in the square. We'll be just inside one of the ally's." Feroc said as he opened the door for Link.

"Okay, that is what I'll do then," Link said as Akon cut his bonds that had kept him on the bed. Getting up Link departed from the house. He now had many crazy things to ponder over


	5. Questions Answered

Link sat and watched the waves of Lake Hylia for sometime. Link found it relaxing to sit along its shores; watching the waves beat against the lakeshore, the perfect place to sit and think about something.

Link had walked up to the lakeshore and sat on the grass trying to take in all that he had been told. The men seemed friendly enough when they were not attacking him, but their story was weird, an evil stone, an undiscovered mountain, and an insane guy that had the power to destroy the world. Link had seen and done some crazy things in his life, and had used some magical stones to get into the Temple of Time, but he had never heard of any that could hold THAT much power. Only the Triforce did, as far as he knew and only Zelda, Ganandorf, and himself had part of the Triforce. But the story was all credible to a point, he knew that there were such things as magical stones and power crazy maniacs, Ganandorf had been one, and Link had had to lock him into another dimension.

"What if it is all true," he thought, "and if it is I would be able to do something interesting again, instead of all this sitting around doing what other people want me to do, all that stuff is boring, and if I stay here all I'd get is boring stuff that I'd have to do. But what about my family, they'd miss me a lot, and if I leave without informing them they'd miss me even more and go looking for me. But if I do inform them, they'll dismiss the whole thing as foolishness and not let me go."

"What should I do?" Link thought as he pondered. "Hurt my family and do something interesting or hurt myself by being bored to death here?"

"Do you think he'll be back?" Akon asked his master, after Link had been gone for a little while.

"I'm sure of it, that boy is one heck of a fighter, he did some powerful blows on me when I went to get him," Feroc replied. "Also, Hyrule is in a time of peace right now, so he's probably bored. If I were in his place and had done all the things that he is said to have done, I would be bored in a time of peace like this."

"I hope you're right, master, because if he doesn't come back, we'll need to go after him again soon or else he might get away again, and who knows where he'll go then," Akon said as he started packing some things into some sacks that him and Feroc had gotten out and had already started packing things into for this trip.

"He'll be back, we just need to ready when he is," Feroc said as he pulled his cloak back over him. "I'll be doing some rounds, make sure everything we need here is packed by the time I return,"

"Yes master, that I'll do," Akon replied and started filling some more sacks with things that they would need for their journey.

"Make sure you do, I'll be back as soon as I find some things," Feroc said as he pulled his cloak tighter over him and clasped it closed with a pin, and with that he went out of the house and disappeared into the busy streets of Hyrule.

Feroc started by looking at some shops for the items that were still needed for their journey. After an hour of searching and having no success, he asked one of the residents if any could be found here about.

"There might be some of those in a shop that's by the gate here, it is a strange shop, the owner searches far and wide for the strangest things and brings them to his shop, but don't worry he might sell some of them to you, for a price." The stranger said and with that, the stranger disappeared into the crowds of the Hyrulean market.

"Thanks," Feroc said and walked off to the area where the man had said the shop was located.

He walked to the city gates and just before he reached them, he found a door. Upon opening the door, Feroc found himself in a shop of sorts, items were scattered about on shelves and in boxes on the floor and there was a counter right by the door. He looked around some more and spotted a weird looking man with a covered face.

"What can I do you for, stranger?" the man asked, and came towards Feroc.

"I have some items on a list here that I was told you might have," Feroc stated.

"Lets see that list," the shop owner said.

With that Feroc handed the man the list and the owner looked it over.

"Yup I have those, but it'll cost you quite a bit of money."

"How much," Feroc said.

"Well the first two together would cost you one hundred rupees. For everything on the list, it would be, err..., eight hundred rupees," the owner said, and handing back the list and looking in Feroc's eyes, "I doubt you have that kind of money."

"I'll pay," Feroc said, breaking off the man's gaze.

"What!" the owner exclaimed. "I don't thing you understand, it's cost you hundreds of rupees."

"I will pay it all in full here and now," Feroc said throwing a bag on the table.

The shop owner opened the bag, and with a look of amazement stared at the green, blue, and red rupees that Feroc had in the bag.

"You've got a deal sir," the owner said as he dug into a box behind him, and rummaged around some shelves and other boxes around the room, until he came back with a sack full of items. "Here are you items."

"Thanks," Feroc said as he took the bag of items and left the shop, traveling back down the road and into the Hyrulean Square, "just one more stop left, then were off."

Link arrived in the ally later that afternoon but when he got there, only Akon could be found.

"Where's Feroc?" Link asked, "I thought he was supposed to be here."

"He went to pick up some things that we will need," Akon replied, "He should be back soon though,"

With that, Link sat down in the dark ally and leaned his back against the wall to wait for Feroc. Akon sat beside him with a few sacks full of things that he had put in a pile up against the wall.

Before long Feroc could be seen cloaked and riding a great horse, while also leading two horses behind him. One of the horses Link thought "Looks familiar". It was not until Feroc had ridden right up to them that Link recognized the horse.

"EPONA! How did you get her?" asked Link with a sudden glee as he rushed up to his beloved horse.

"I knew you would agree to come so I got Epona here and this," Feroc stated as he tossed Link a bag.

"But how would you know I was actually coming if I haven't told any of you yet?" Link said as he looked through the contents of the bag.

"Hey, this is my stuff!" he exclaimed.

"Yup, I went to the palace and got your weapons and clothes, etc." Feroc stated and got off his horse.

"But how did you know I was coming," Link asked.

"Trust me, we know what your life is like now and know that you are itching for an adventure."

"That is true and I am ready to go with you," Link said as he packed up his bag and attached it to Epona's saddle. Akon did the same and Feroc started their adventure.

"Time's a wasting, so lets go," Feroc said as they spurred his horse forward with Link and Akon behind him, racing through the streets and gates of Hyrule and onto the green fields of Hyrule, galloping into the sunshine of the warm summer days of Hyrule. Heading to the unknown of the quest now before them, that only Feroc and Akon knew even a hint of what lay ahead of them, leaving Link only to guess the dangers that could soon face them.

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[Authors Note: This is technically end of part 1. My goal for this story is for it to have six parts; most of them will be a little longer than this part, though. This is my first fanfic ever so do not hurt me if it is not like the other stories on this site. The next part will introduce the guest and characters more and go into more detail on the wizard Feroc and Dajak his nemesis. I know that so far this story is pretty boring, but I have just begun so far, this story is going to be a lot longer than you think, so keep reading and enjoy part 2 of, A Shadow of Hope.]


	6. Ruthlessness and Rage

The green fields of Hyrule seemed fly out underneath them as the group rode down the vast green expanse. The sky was perfect for the trip, as blue as it had ever been, with not one cloud in the sky. Through all this, a bit of motion could be seen. Down on the fields, three figures could be seen, riding out towards the ridges around the fields.

With the sun high above them, the small group was making good time over the fields of Hyrule. Link in his green tunic, riding Epona, Akon in a red tunic riding a great white horse, and Feroc, cloaked riding a large black horse. The group left vast expanses behind them.

Link rode in the back of the group, feeling like an outsider, he tried to keep away from Feroc and Akon, especially their gazes. It seemed to him like they were looking into his mind or something. Link did not really know what they were doing, but whatever it was it was unnerving. Link at times would look back across the vast expanse of the fields towards Hyrule and sometimes would give a sigh of regret for leaving like that, leaving his family, and his stewardship.

Link tried to force those thoughts out of him mind. _I cannot be weak now. I already said I would do this and do this I shall._ Bane in an attempt to get his mind focused on other things, spurred his horse forward, catching up to Akon.

Akon was fiddling with a crystal he was wearing and seemed already occupied. Link then looked at Feroc, he was cloaked as usual, but he kept on pulling it up closer, over his face, as if he hated the light or was trying to hide. _Why, would he be doing that?_ Link thought a rode up closer to him. Link tried to get his attention. However, the man seemed not to notice him or was just ignoring him.

Finally, Link was too curious to keep it in and asked, "Feroc why are you always cloaked when you are out in the daylight,"

Feroc just turned in Link's direction, and then looked back ahead and continued riding forward.

"My master has been in the dark places too long. For two years, he has been living in a cave near the mountain. There it does not get very light so his eyes are very sensitive to how bright your Hyrulean days are." Akon told Link, bringing his horse in closer to Links.

"But I thought he said he was in the desert waiting?" Link asked.

"He was, but the desert is a large place you know. The mountain is in a desert valley that was reached through a narrow canyon. It was in a cave in the canyon that my master waited."

"How did he eat and drink?" Link asked.

"I'm not sure, there could have been a stream, or maybe he just used magic to feed himself. All I know is that somehow he did manage to keep himself healthy and strong out there for many months and came back to me." After Akon said this, he looked back forward and him and Link spurred their horses on.

_So, that is why_ Link thought and tried to continue conversation with Akon.

"So, what did you do when you weren't off with Feroc?" Link asked him.

Akon turned to Link sighed then answered, "When I was staying in Hyrule, I worked in the market, I had a shop of potions. I would get them from an old lady who would make them then she would give them to me to sell. She said she was too old and worn out now to sell them, so she hired me too, it was quite prosperous and a great many people came into the shop and I got a lot of information"

"Hmmm, interesting" Link said and turned ahead again. _So that's what he did, I haven't been in that shop for years, no wonder I never noticed him their, when I get back I should get out more and get to know more people_ and with that Link remained silent and concentrated on the task at hand. Which was to follow Feroc where ever he lead and help him in the task that had been ordained and set aside by Feroc for Link to assist with.

The group continued all day, and before they stopped, they had crossed the vast Hyrulean fields and camped on the borders of the fields near to the Kokari Forest. With Link and Akon tending the horses, Feroc went off into the forest. Akon and Link tended and unpacked the horses. With sometime still before they expected Feroc to return, Akon made a quick dinner of beef and potatoes.

"Why do we need to be in such a hurry with everything," Link asked as Akon finished cooking their dinner on a small fire. Link could see and smell the food, and could not wait to fill his starving body. Riding all day had exhausted him and had made him very sore.

"We will be leaving tonight, through the Lost Woods, and beyond," Akon replied and took the food off the fire dividing it onto two plates and handing one to Link.

"But the Lost Woods only leads to the Goron City and back to the Kokari forest where we are now," Link said and sat down to eat.

"That is what everyone thought until we found another path through it," Akon said and sat down also to eat.

Before long Feroc returned, he seamed to have just appeared out of nowhere right in front on them.

"We go now!" Feroc stated as he rushed to pack up everything.

"What?" Akon said a little confused, "I thought we were going to go only at night through there,"

"That was the plan, but it has changed now, we're going now," Feroc said and stuffed what he could into his saddlebags. Stuffing what they could into their mouths Link and Akon did the same and after they had packed what they could they mounted their horses and soon they went galloping into the woods.

The trees were green, dense, and covered with fungi. With such a dense forest, not much light came through as the group galloped through. Link had been here before but this time it gave him an eerie feeling. He had not used to such haste and urgency when he had gone through here the other times. The trees seemed to be much closer and alive than before. Link just tried not to pay attention to them and just concentrated on riding the tricky path that Feroc was galloping as fast as he could down.

They galloped for what seemed like hours, not resting for anything, until they reached a little rock cleft. Here Feroc dismounted and pushed the rock. The rock moved and uncovered a cave that before Link had never even noticed any evidence of.

The cave was dark, and with the trees casting shadows on it the way they were, Link it amazing that anyone had been able to find it. If he had not known better, he would have that it was just a shadow from one of the nearby trees.

After only a few seconds, Feroc dismounted and led his horse into the dark expanse of the cave. Inside, Link found it impossible to see anything. When he noticed that Akon and Feroc were not going to light any torches, he whispered, "Why aren't we going to use any light?" his voice echoed off the walls of the cave bouncing around.

"It would attract the attention of anyone who might be in here," Akon answered. "Don't worry. Feroc knows the way, just keep tight with me, you'll make it through alright." Link pressed as close to Akon as he could in the utter blackness of the cave, trying to stay calm and silent so to not attract the attention of anyone or anything that might be in here.

The trip seemed to take hours, but as it turned out it was only about forty minutes. As the group emerged from the cave, Link immediately started blinking and squinting at the now very bright light. After Link's eyes had adjusted, he looked around. He was on a mountainside. Below him was the vast expanse of the Gerudo Valley and the wastelands.

Feroc signaled them and Akon followed him. Link followed suit as Feroc led them along the mountainside ridge they were on. They stopped once for a quick drink or two then Feroc got back on his horse and spurred it on. Link and Akon followed suit and by the late afternoon, the three dusty, rugged riders overlooked the Gerudo Fortress.

The land looked differently than it had when Link had been here before. Instead of a fortress with guards everywhere, there was not a soul in sight, and from the fortress thin wisps of smoke emerged as they flew up into the endless expanse of the afternoon sky.

Link noticed Feroc looking at the same thing and noticed his fist clenching and unclenching as he looked at the now desolate fortress. He seemed to be holding in a great amount of anger. Link was astonished that all the anger he seemed to be holding in could be controlled. Then Feroc turned towards them at got along side his horse.

"We go now!" Feroc yelled as he leapt onto his horses back, "down into the fortress, we're too late!"

Link and Akon fumbled with their mounts and Feroc was a good ways ahead of them before they mounted and headed off. Spurring their horses to go as fast as they could Link and Akon sped down the mountain. They seemed to be flying through the air, seeming as beams of light that nothing could stop.

The ride down was a lot farther than Link had guessed from the top of the ridge. He did not even seem to be moving much at all. He and Akon seemed just to be riding in place, but upon looking back, Link could see the place where they last stood getting farther and farther away.

"How high up were we?" Link asked Akon as they raced down, trying to catch up to Feroc, who now was far ahead of them.

"About 9,000 feet up, and the gradual slope down, is about 10 miles."

Link looked up again and then looked down. This was going to take a while.

Upon reaching the bottom, they rode across the valley to the fortress. They crossed the expanse quickly and reached the fortress. As they entered they looked for Feroc, but he was nowhere in sight. Near one of the buildings, Feroc's horse could be seen. Link and Akon rode up to it and dismounted.

Then they heard the cry from within the building, Feroc's cry. Akon and Link rushed into the building and saw Feroc kneeling by one of the Gerudo thieves. The female was dead and a pool of blood had formed beside her. Upon a quick look around Link noticed and was shocked to see many thieves lying in their own blood in the room and some could be seen dead in other rooms.

"Who did this?" Link asked in shock.

"Him," was all that Feroc said as he got up and entered one of the other rooms in the large mud brick building.

Link and Akon followed him. They entered another room very nearly like the first, with bodies of Gerudo thieves lying about. In this room though, one thing was different. On the far wall, a message was written, in red. Link staggered back as he realized what it was written in. The message was written in blood.

Feroc, Akon, and Link walked up and read the message. It read:

_Feroc,_

_Yes, I knew that was you back in the forest today. You must have been shocked to find me so soon though. No doubt, you would have thought that my trip here to retrieve my stone would have taken longer. It did not. In fact, I had help from a boy. He killed the monster and returned it to me. These Hyrulean warriors are so gullible, all you have to do is act all helpless, and innocent and they will help you with anything._

_Well, after you found me, I am quite sure you did not think I saw you. However, I did, in fact I watched you the whole time. I know you are after me again. I do not mind. I have my stone back and it is power, as you can no doubt tell by the gift I left for you here. Well, if you would like to continue chasing me, do it. I will relish the chance to see you again. Therefore, if you still would like to go after me, you will find me in the wastelands near the Temple of the Spirit. I will wait for you there for two days. Come if you dare._

_I really want to meet you again and your pathetic excuse for an apprentice, if you can get up the nerve to come. When you arrive at the Spirit Temple do the chant, you should remember what I am talking about. Once you do that, I will be there. Now remember your courtesy now, I would not want to do anything, forceful._

_Dajak  
P.S. I hope you like you gift, it was the best I could do with such short notice._

Link heard Feroc swear as they finished reading the message then he turned to look at Link, a look of hatred in his eyes. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! WHY DID YOU GIVE HIM THAT STONE BACK? WHY!" and with that Feroc stormed out of the room.

To Link this message proved that he had done the right decision to help them. If Dajak had done this, and as only a cruel gift, no guessing what he might try in the future.

"So what will we do now?" Link asked Akon.

"We wait," Akon replied as Feroc fell into rage. The mage stormed out of the room and out of the building into the darkening desert evening.


	7. A Life Saved is a Life Lost

Link and Akon waited in the now eerie Fortress for hours, waiting for Feroc to return. To use up time, they stacked the bodies of the Gerudo on a pyre of sorts. In the dim light of dusk, they placed a torch near the bottom of the pile, igniting the pyre. Due to the lack of time and the unpredictability of the desert, Link and Akon could not bury each one, so they had decided a pyre would be best. The fire burned brightly lighting up the now dark desert evening. Link and Akon looked in remorse at the fallen Gerudo as they put them on the pier and watched their bodies burn to ash. They had done nothing to deserve this cruel fate. Their lives had been taken due to the insanity of one cruel man, eager to harm others and to spread misery on anyone and everyone.

After all of the dead had been placed on the pier, and Link and Akon watched them all burn, they walked back inside to wait for the long missing, Feroc.

Time seemed just to be slowly crawling along after funeral in the now dark fortress of the Gerudo, sometimes Link or Akon would go out and look for Feroc, but to no avail. Feroc had disappeared into the blackness of the desert. Not even through magic could Akon reach him. He had shut himself off from all and did not want to be found or helped.

Link looked at Akon, he was fidgeting in the corner. Link walked up to him, and sat down next to him. The older man looked up at him but soon looked back down.

"You think he'll he back?" Link asked.

Akon's head came up looking deep into Link's eyes, and then it slowly sank back down. "I'm not sure."

"Has he done this before, to your reckoning."

"Never to mine, but he is a driven man now, driven almost to insanity. He's been in the desert so long, doing I'm not sure what for a very long time, so I don't know what he'll do, but I do know that he has changed, changed a ton."

"So what should we do? Continue waiting for him or should we go out to looked for him?"

"How about we wait for-" Akon's voice broke as he answered.

"What?"

Akon's hand came up to signal Link to be quiet. Link remained silent and listened. He heard something, something like a scratching noise. Akon's head jerked to one part of the compound, listening more. They heard it again. Akon jumped up and he started running to another part of the compound.

Link, after grabbing a torch, followed Akon, in a maddening chase through doorways and rooms of the compound of the now dark stone compound. Akon stopped, listening again. Link nearly ran into him, but was able to stop just just in time. Within a few seconds it could be heard again, Akon picked up the direction again and ran into the adjacent room, Akon stopped again and put his ear to the solid stone brick wall and while doing so put his hands out and while listening felt his way along the wall. Link watched him in amazement, what could it be that could peek his interest so.

Link noticed that Akon had stopped and had crouched down putting his ear close to one specific stone tapping it with his knuckles. Link listened and heard a slight tapping in response to Akon's tap. Akon jumped up excited, putting his hands on the side of the stone block there.

"Help me get this stone out," he said tugging at it.

Link agreed with a nod and after putting the torch he was carrying on one of the places for it on the wall, he walked up and joined Akon at trying to pull the rock out of the wall. The rock did not move. Link pulled and pulled. His arms felt as if they were going to fall off, but he continued. He started sweating, and with a quick look at Akon, Link could tell he was too. Finally, the rock budged, pulling out of the wall about an inch. The sudden movement of the stone sent Link falling back. He got up and walked up to the stone again. Akon was gasping for breath but soon he signaled Link that they should continue. Soon they were grunting and straining again at the stone. Now it was easier, the stone started coming out slowly, inch-by-inch it came.

Finally, when Link thought he could not go on any longer it came fully out revealing a small crawl space beyond. Link stared into the crawl space and noticed that someone was in there. Stepping back, he noticed a woman in there, crawling forward to get out. Akon stepped forward and lowered his hand to help pull her out of the small space.

When she had been pulled out of the whole and was dusting herself off Link noticed. She was a Gerudo, from the fiery red hair to dark skin. The only difference was in the clothing. Instead of wearing the usual Gerudo, facial covering and tan desert pants and multi-colored top, she wore an almost pearl colored nightgown now dusty from being inside such a cramped space. Link also noticed that she had her hair down instead of being tied up. "All and all she looked quite lovely," Link thought.

The woman noticed Link's starring and said with annoyance "What? Haven't you ever heard of a Gerudo changing to go to bed? We do sleep you know"

Akon stepping in, "Sorry but we have only seen Gerudo's in their normal attire and manner. Sorry for the boy's starring. We are on an urgent mission and we need you to answer some questions"

"First I need some food and water, being in that hole for hours, has gotten me quite thirsty, what time is it?"

"It's about two hours past sundown, and if you'll follow me we'll try to help you as much as possible." Akon led the way taking the torch from the wall and Link taking the back.

Link watched the woman carefully. She kept quiet while they walked through the fortress and Link noticed some tears starting on her eyes as she looked around at the scorched black walls and the eerie silence of the place that once had been teeming with people. She kept back, keeping always a few steps behind Akon, who led them to the room where him and Link had put all the Gerudo gear as well as their own.

They entered, the Gerudo woman looked at the pile of Gerudo gear that Link and Akon had stacked in there and she looked up angrily.

"Were you going to steal the belongings of my people, looting the place of their fall?"

"No!" Akon said sternly and put his arm on her shoulder, "you should know better, now come over here and answer some questions and we might be able to help you" Akon lead her to their stuff and pulled out some food and a flask of water and he handed it to her.

"Now, please sit and eat, and answer us some questions."

The woman to hungry now to argue sat and attacked the food ravenously and chugging down the water.

"Not too fast, there. You might hurt yourself," Akon said chuckling. "Now, can you tell us what happened here? How did the Gerudo's die?"

"I'm not into associating with men, who aren't mine."

"Well that doesn't concern me, I'm not yours, and the boy isn't either, but answer the question."

The woman sighed, and answered, "There was a man. He rode into here in seemingly great haste and asked for our leader. She came out and had him surrounded by guards; he laughed at her and said he was bringing a gift for her. She always did like gifts well; by then, I was very awake and was looking down from one of the upper stories. It was my sleeping period but the commotion startled me, so I watched."

"Well he finally said the gift wasn't for her but for a friend passing by soon, she got mad and had the guards close in on him, but then an evil look went into his eyes and they turned bright red. He lifted his hands and the ground shook. The guards, not fazed by a little quake, continued moving in, but that is when it happened. Out of the ground they came, hundreds of them, skeletons, demons, lizards, all carrying blades. Hundreds, thousands of them, popping out of the ground, were overpowering the initial guards. The alarm was sounded and my people came out to fight, but there were too many. My people were cut down before my eyes. I ran from them after my blade broke and took cover in one of our treasure hideaways, but the stone gone stuck, probably from the power of all his creatures. They boiled through the fortress killing or destroying everything and everyone. I am sure no one else survived. They were just too powerful and numerous."

Akon sighed and put his hand on hers, "Well don't worry for now. They are gone and so is he. But we are seeking him to bring him to justice and if you would like to help us, you can."

The woman looked up, "I'll do what I want when I want to, and no more shall I do," she said, then she went back to eating her food.

Link got up and walked outside. The night was now fully here. The stars and moon were out in all their brilliance. Link watched them for a while then he felt something. A tremor deep in the ground, then a flash could be seen. Link followed it and looked towards the desert. Towards the Great Spirit Temples flashes could be seen, flashes of red, white, blue and more, as well as the rumbling and sound like thunder.

Akon could then he seen running out of the fortress at full throttle, the Gerudo woman following.

"FEROC!" Akon screamed it in what seemed like desperation, jumping on his horse and riding out towards the sound.

"What's going on?!" the woman yelled at Link.

Link turned to the woman. "STAY HERE!" Link ran to Epona and jumped on, riding furiously to catch up to the desperate Akon, riding fast for the temple.

Link rode hard to catch up to Akon, who was riding like a demon, fear quite obviously showing on his face. They rode out of the ruined fortress and into the desert, where Link knew the temple awaited.

They rode, their horses pounding the earth, leaving a large cloud of dust going far back behind then. Seeing Akon this way got Link worried too. What got him so, so different in such a short period of time? Link did not even have to think long, he knew. _Feroc _he thought, _he went out after him and accepted that challenge, that is him out there_. Akon's fear was now imbedded in Link too, the fear of losing Feroc, and having to do this without him. The fear drove Link faster to try to go faster, Epona now going as fast as possible.

They reached the dune overlooking the temple, climbing up it. Then another large flash happened followed by an explosion, the blast caused the horses to rear up, throwing their riders off. Link and Akon hit the sand and rolled. Link was slower to get up than Akon you dived for the edge of the ridge, rising at its edge, looking over. Link soon joined him slowly bring his head up to look over, dreading at what he might see.

Below them was the Spirit temple, its entrance seemingly carved right out of the cliff face. Its great stone pillars rising up menacingly above the desert. At first Link could see nothing, then, looking at his partners face, he followed his eyes to a spot on the great steps into the temple. A body was there, black and not moving. Link could see tears rolling down Akon's cheeks as he ran down the dune toward the body not noticing or caring about the black figure beyond it.

Link could see the figure look up and laugh, a low demonic laugh. Then the figure spoke. The voice seemed to be inside Link's mind talking to him.

"_So boy, you joined up with this rabble fully now, well now that this nucence is out of the way, I am finished here, you can have what's left of him if you want, he might even still be breathing for the time being. I have what I want and now I can do my next goal, with Feroc out of the way I have nothing to fear. Your turn to face me will come soon enough, but you wont need to come seeking me out for that, I'll come to you and when I do we'll fight and when you are gone, Hyrule would follow soon after. Nevertheless, don't cry or hide in fear, your death wont be lingering like Feroc's here; his was eating him out from inside long before this. However, yours will come and also Akon's here too. All people's death in this world shall come, some quicker than others but they all shall. Yours will not be long away now, so when I come looking for you, do not make me search long, or more shall die because of you, like Feroc here. His death is on your hands, you got the stone back for me. I did not want to warn Feroc and Akon to my presence so soon so I got you to get that stone back from that annoying beast for me by disguising myself. I played the poor helpless traveler and you the hero, but all you did is cause suffering to many like the Gerudo and now Feroc. So now think on my words and remember your time will come, not yet, but it's coming, coming...._"

The last word seemed to trail off, as the figure seemed to disappear, into the sand and be blown away by the night desert breeze.

Link soon joined Akon by Feroc's body. Akon was crying, holding his master's seemingly lifeless hand, trying to help the man who now seemed so helpless as his body was nearly gone, burned from the hip down and one arm too. But upon Feroc's face was a smile, as he brought Akon in closer whispering something into his ear, then he looked at Link a weird look in his eyes. Another voice entered his mind, but this time it was not cold and menacing but soothing and full of peace and hope.

"_My boy, I'm sorry I misjudged you. Do not believe what he has told you about all this being your fault. I knew I was to die before Dajak was to be defeated totally. I knew that long ago. However, take this as a word of hope. He can be defeated, I know he can. I have found a way. A way that seemed so hard and impossible before. Nevertheless, believe me, it is possible, I know it now. Your actions of getting the stone back to Dajak were meant to happen. I did not know it then when I stormed off but I do know that now. You were doing the exact action that had to happen for all this to conclude and me to actually get the answer of how to defeat him. You may think that after seeing what he did to me that my answer is not right but it is, I know it. Akon here might not believe you at first but he has another mission right now, different from yours. Your home is in danger and back to it you must go. Do not fret at night, fearing that Dajak will come for you, even though come he shall. When he comes, you shall know in advance and your meeting will not just be between you two. I knew that you were the one before but I doubted it, until now, so now take this as an apology for my actions before. Take this, the answer to my long sought question. It is in these, my memories, that I give to you and Akon, in them are all the answers, and the last hope of all...._"[italics or quotes]

Feroc breathed in one last time, and the breath came out in one long stream. His eyes turned back to Akon, who was crying uncontrollably and something seemed to happen there. Akon looked up seemingly listlessly, tears in his eyes but he seemed to be looking at something else, something far away from here. Then Feroc turned his gaze back to Link, who now too was beginning to cry, and their eyes connected. A flash seemed to happen in Link's mind and a light seemed to turn on. Link's mind was going, going elsewhere somewhere else. Link looked back at Feroc one last time before his mind left. He was still smiling but now it seemed peaceful, as if now he was gone, somewhere else. Gone back to where all came from, gone back in peace. 


End file.
